Greetings from South Korea!

We made it folks! After a 2 hour plane ride from OKC to ATL, a 3 hour layover in ATL and a 14.5 hour plane trip to Seoul, we are officially in the Land of the Morning Calm! 7,946 miles traveled. I am sure your first question is "how did Ella do on the plane ride?" Well I would love to say she was a perfect angel, but that wasn't the case. She did receive a few compliments on how well behaved she was, but those passengers must have missed her little hissy fits she would throw in the seat next to me. Understandably so. I barely survived the trip myself and after a "few" much needed glasses of wine, I finally became comfortable on the flight. Oh and the fact that I held onto my rosary beads the entire trip. Turbulence can be a real b!tch. (It caused my wine to spill...the nerve!) You have to love kids though because Ella saw the ups and downs and shaking of the plane as a roller coaster ride and said weeeee and giggled the whole time. Her mom however...well I was white knuckled and practically pulling the oxygen mask down so I wouldn't pass out from sheer terror.

Korean Airlines is a wonderful airline though. I have to give them huge props for comfort and the ability to keep their customers occupied for such long flights. They give you eye masks, socks, toothbrush and a bottle of water when you get on the plane. They gave Ella a plane-shaped magna doodle and coloring book with crayons. There are tv's in every seat with an entertainment package. I was able to watch two movies when Ella was sleeping and Ella was able to watch children's movies (Nemo and Shrek were her favorite choices). The food was pretty good too. I tried the Korean Bipimbop which consisted of rice, meat, spinach, zuchini, and mushrooms. You have to add sesame oil and a red pepper paste to make it as spicy as you would like. I thought it was good! They served all the meals in glass bowls or plates and used real silverware. Ella's children's meal rocked. She had chicken nuggets and fries, milano cookies, a kit kat bar, banana muffin, rice pudding, chicken salad...I bet they give the Korean kids rice. But the American kids...well they want us to be nice and fat. And yes, I did always help Ella finish her meal;) I can't allow Milano cookies to go to waste.

I have to admit I had my first Korean language biff! A Korean man was helping me with my luggage once we got to Seoul and was loading it on the cart for me. (I must have had that look of desperation on my face holding Ella while trying to unload 2 suitcases, a car seat, a camera bag, my backpack, her backpack and a stroller. You have to do this on your own before you go through customs!) After he was done I said "gamsamnida" thank you in Korean...well I said it all wrong (woooops) and he started laughing at me. He corrected me, but now I'm even more hesitant to try this crazy language! I know he appreciated me making an effort though. Oh and these Koreans LOVE Ella. I don't know if it's her blonde hair or what, but everyone wants to touch her and they all say "oh so cute!" One of the airline guys said "oh you like a real live baby doll!" It was sweet.

We are currently adjusting to the 14 hour time difference. Ella is waking up at 315-4 am. But it's ok. I wake up around then, too because I am out of my mind starving! I literally eat three breakfasts. Tom said it's normal because my body missed a few meals, but I think he's just being nice! Either way, I know we will adjust soon. No worries.

Thank you to everyone for all their support and love for us with this trip. It was a huge relief to touch down in Seoul and to know we did it! I felt like super mom for a few minutes. There are times when I doubt myself, but after this adventure I think I'm ok doing pretty much anything on my own. But I never would have thought it was possible to bring Ella along for such a trip without the courage from you guys! Lots of love to you all. I'm missing my stateside friends and fam a whole lot. Oh and my Iphone. ;)

Outside the Seoul Airport, very happy to be on the ground after 24+ hours of traveling.

Out to dinner in the Ville on Saturday night. Mushroom Bulgogi yummmm.

I call this beer the Korean 40. It's huge. But I enjoyed two of them;) Ella however, slept through the meal after a small crying fit.

Dvd Shopping! Ella still sleeping. Happy to get 3 dvds for $7. PS Don't ever rent or buy District 9. Very stupid movie. But Ella loves her new Bee movie and Coraline!

Tom says Ella looks like me in this picture. Is it her cheeks? Smile? You tell me.

Thanks for checking in on us! Annyeoung-hi-gaseyo!

And we're off!

Me and E are off on our latest adventure! South Korea here we come! Ella keeps saying "see daddy, see daddy" so I know she's as excited as her mama. It's going to be a very long day of traveling for the both of us, but it will be worth it. (Even though I am so anxious I could throw up).

Passports in hand

2 suitcases, a stroller, my NF backpack, Ella's backpack, a car seat and a camera bag. Oh and Ella. Yup, we are all set.

Everything inside my backpack and hers! Not pictured: dvd player and a ton of dvds. (I packed it, no worries!)

I can't wait to see you Tom! Love you and miss you.

Callie's Baby Shower

My friend Michelle and I threw Callie a baby shower for Miss Taylor on Monday evening. It was a small, yet fun party! Callie received some very nice gifts and we played some typical baby shower games. I won the game that guessed how big Callie's belly was;) I'm just good like that. We hope Callie had as much fun as we did. She deserves to be spoiled because she is my lifeline here! I don't know what I would do without the Peterson's! We are all anxiously awaiting the arrival of Taylor, due Nov 5th. Let's all hope she arrives AFTER I return from South Korea!

Favors were sugar cookies iced green and pink with a "T" for Taylor.

Game Time! Callie concentrating very hard to unscramble baby words!

I lost this game, but tried hard. And that's all that really matters. Winning isn't everything.

These crazy chicks cheated the whole game;) Love them though!

Guess the baby food:)

Apparently Bonnie's piece of yarn was a little lon for JUST Callie's belly. It fit both her and Katie's pregnant belly! Hahaha

Callie opening up the beautiful gifts my mom made her. She loved them! Thanks Mom!

Catching up...

We've been keeping busy here before we leave for our big adventure. We took a trip to Kansas with Callie to visit her family. We promised her dad we would see one of his games before he retires at the end of the year. He coaches a local HS football team. Her mom even made us all tshirts:)

All ready for a roadtrip!
Her first football game. Clearly not interested in the sport.
Playing at the park by Grandma Mary's house
Little Monkey.

We also had Ella's friend Cadence at our house for a few days. Don't be fooled. She may be as tall as Ella, but she's still four months younger. :) They had a blast flying kites, playing outside picking flowers, and finger painting pumpkins!
Hmm I wonder who did this to poor Riley...

6 days and a wake up!

Do I really only have one week until I leave with Ella to head to the Land of the Morning Calm?!? YES! I am so excited. Everyday I tell Ella we have #days until we see Daddy and she sings "see daddddy, see daddddy". It's really sweet and even though I am anxious about the 14.5 hour plane ride from ATL to Seoul, I keep telling myself " it is ONE day of your life you have to spend traveling with a toddler to see your husband and a beautiful new country". I can do this. I have to see it as another adventure to add to the list of fabulous travel opportunities we have been blessed with. Tom has been living in South Korea for five months now. Seems like forever to me, but I'm sure to most it's a blink of an eye. When we arrive back in the states we will have 5.5 more months until Tom returns from his one year tour. We can do this!

Granny P's Trip to LTown!

Granny P arrived in Lawton on Friday the 4th and we had such a fabulous time with her. It's never a dull day when "Chuckie" is here! Ella remembered her, too. As soon as we got home from the airport, Ella ran into her playroom and proceeded to get out EVERY toy Granny P has ever given to her..including an empty container of Thomas bubbles. She even handed Granny P the bird she bought her in NYC. Ella apparently has the memory of an elephant;) We spent Saturday in OKC venturing out to Chuck E. Cheese and then to do some much needed shopping for Ella. Our kid is growing like a weed. At the beginning of summer, she was a size 4 shoe. At the end, she is a size 7! At the beginning of summer she was in 12-18 months clothing. Now I won't buy anything smaller than 2T. I believe she's grown about 3 inches and added about 5 lbs to her;)

We spent Sunday morning relaxing, drinking our java and then we headed to church. We had dinner that night with Tom's brother Chris (he deploys to Iraq in Nov) and spent the night in chit chatting and catching up on life. Ella loved having her Uncle there to hang out with and show off to. Chris needs the practice as we found out that weekend he and his wife are expecting a baby GIRL in February!

All in all, a fabulous weekend with fabulous Granny P. She spoiled Ella rotten and we appreciate her coming to visit. Thank you for making the time go by faster without daddy here! We hope to see her again in February for the rodeo in OKC!

The "Chuckie's" share a moment

Ella contemplating the dance game

She loved it!

Learning how to play this infamous game.

She's understanding it and seems to enjoy herself.She must think she's hurting them when she bops them on the head!

Apparently she's not moving fast enough for Granny P. She wants a shot at it! Ella's face explains how she feels about sharing."Hmmmm he's not all that big in person."Loved being a jockey!

Trying to get her to take after mommy with her bball skills;) (or lack thereof)

Striking a pose modeling with one of the new outfits Granny P bought for her!

Ready for church. Ummm Ella, word to the wise...when you are dressed in Burberry, you must crack at least a small smile:)

I love Ella's little grin in this photo. She is toooo cute!

Drinking milk from her favorite Tony Stewart race car cup from Grampy Larry:)

Saying bye bye to Uncle Chris and Granny P:(

To see more pictures of our weekend, click here. Thanks for checking in on us! xoxoxoxo